Transient Plasma Systems ignition breakthrough promises super-low emissions, fuel efficiency

We get frequent reminders that we are on the "bleeding edge" of autodom's electrification. And the reality is that because of huge EV production investments and battery costs, as well as range and charging issues, the internal combustion engine will likely remain with us for some time.

A recent breakthrough in plasma-ignition tech is helping to ensure that probability. It promises better fuel efficiency and much lower emissions. And that will add regulatory compliance life to gasoline and natural gas engines.

No, plasma here has nothing to do with blood; it's an electrically conductive ionized gas. By converting an engine's intake charge into an ionized gas, the spark from the plug is significantly more likely to propagate a flame front through the entire air-fuel mix, resulting in a cleaner, more complete burn and combustion.

"Obviously, the promise of electric vehicles is very real, and it's a long-term solution," observes Dan Singleton, CEO of Transient Plasma Systems in Torrance, Calif. "But we see mainstream market penetration for EVs as a decade or more away. So in our vision, internal combustion engine vehicles need to become cleaner and more efficient now. Our technology uses 10-nanosecond pulsed power to produce transient plasma. And we've demonstrated that we can get a more than 20 percent improvement in fuel economy and 50 percent lower [oxides of nitrogen] emissions compared to a conventional ignition system."

By electronically exciting the combustion air-fuel charge to a transient low-temperature plasma state using very short, lower-energy electrical pulses, the technology enables even highly diluted charges — using exhaust gas recirculation or air — to burn quite completely.

Generally, engines run close to what is called an "ideal" stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio of 14.7:1, which provides good burn stability. Higher ratio mixtures do not fire up completely, which can result in combustion misfires and climbing pollutant levels. But Singleton says that with the plasma technology, air-fuel mixtures of 25:1 and higher fire up with stability and operate efficiently.

Plasma-ignition tech is not new; it has been investigated in government and automaker labs for decades. But recent very high-speed, high-voltage, solid-state switching breakthroughs, used by Transient Plasma Systems, have brought previously high costs down and reduced ignition-system packaging requirements.

Singleton acknowledges that steps were also taken to eliminate unique, high-cost and complicated spark plugs, or "special igniters," cloak the effects of electromagnetic interference and reduce any required engine modifications to fit his system to existing engines. Essentially, it is a smaller, more reliable, lower-cost plug-and-play version of earlier units.

Singleton adds that quarterly, Transient Plasma Systems tracks chip breakthroughs "as they come out." He says, "Our system gives the automakers a new [affordable] tool that enables highly dilute combustion strategies that lower emissions and unlock efficient combustion modes. And power consumption is in the same range as a standard [multiple-spark discharge] system. We think we need to bridge that gap on the way to other [lower-emissions] technologies."

Singleton says the company has demonstrated its technology on "very small" engines and "very large" engines and with Asian, European and American carmakers. Transient Plasma Systems is also active with the Sandia and Argonne national labs, has U.S. Department of Energy funding and cooperates on published papers with lab associates.